Ringlemere Cup
Posted on 03/21/2008 10:59:33 AM PDT by blam
Gold cup find led to graves discovery
by Nick Evans
AN important archaeological find by Broadstairs man Cliff Bradshaw prompted further excavations which uncovered centuries- old Anglo-Saxon graves.
These later finds, thought to be the graves of women from the fifth and sixth centuries, were the subject of an inquest held last week by coroner Rebecca Cobb to decide if the finds should be declared treasure.
She heard the excavations followed the discovery in 2001 by Cliff Bradshaw of what has since become known as the Ringlemere Cup, which was later declared a national treasure and is on show in the British Museum, London.
The Ringlemere Cup is thought to be one of only a handful found in Europe. Dating from 1700-1500BC and made of beaten gold, it emphasised the intricate craftsmanship of the early Bronze Age.
Mr Bradshaw was convinced more discoveries were buried in the field at Ringlemere near Sandwich, and the Canterbury Archaeological Trust organised a series of digs in 2005 and 2006.
Dr Andrew Richardson, finds liaison officer for Kent County Council, said: "It is a large cemetery with very deep graves."
The inquest was told that eventually the Anglo-Saxon cemetery was found and part of the contents, as well as chunks of earth, were sent to the British Museum for investigation.
Keith Parfitt, co-director of excavations at the trust, said he believed there were more Saxon graves yet to be discovered in the field. Beads, glass beakers, brooches, a toilet set and ring fragments were among the items catalogued from the excavations and the coroner decided the list of finds qualified as treasure.
The contents of the graves will be considered by a special committee at the British Museum, and their worth will then be assessed.
Ringlemere Cup
They probably crushed it and threw it away because it kept tipping over.
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Thanks Blam. Nice gold work. |
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It's like that old college trick of serving the girls their drinks in those plastic wine glasses, without the bases on them. That way they couldn't set them down. :-)
Ya ever see those glasses on a chain that were worn around the neck in the 70’s? Very tacky.
I think they mean that they think this cup is of a style similar to a small number of other vessels found in Europe, but they aren’t sure of the style yet, so they can’t positively catalog it.
Here's a better gold cup.
On the other hand, it might be a Royal Piss Pot designed to be held and emptied by a servant. It was never intended to be set at table, upright
AN important archaeological find by Broadstairs man Cliff Bradshaw prompted further excavations which uncovered centuries- old Anglo-Saxon graves.
The Ringlemere Cup is thought to be one of only a handful found in Europe. Dating from 1700-1500BC and made of beaten gold, it emphasised the intricate craftsmanship of the early Bronze Age.
...................
The anglo saxons didn’t come until the 300-400’s AD. These aren’t are not anglo saxon graves. they’re celtic.
If that's what they mean, why don't they say it?
Hard to tell from a pic, but assuming it is a cup used for drinking, whether their favorite beverages or for religious rites, and looking at the size of the handle, you’d have to estimate the overall size of this cup at at least ten inches high by eight inches across.
That’s a lot of weight in solid beaten gold. So here’s to those hardy Englishmen of 1500 BC.
Or maybe the lady of the house crushed it on the head of her spouse, when he came home soused, the dirty louse.
New evidence indicates that Germanic people may have been coming to SE England for 6000 Years.
It’s Brit English, not American. It may make perfect sense in that context.
If the cup dates to 1700-1500 B.C., it’s probably from before the Celts arrived in Britain.
Did you find any pictures of the toilet seat? I wonder if that technology has changed in the last 3000 years.
There are many surviving examples of Roman latrines and photos of some of them are easily accessible online (try googling "roman toilet"). Of course this article is about a period long before the Romans arrived in Britain.
Coulda happened. You aren’t perchance a forensic archaeologist, are you?
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